Improvement in ticket-punches



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

ROBERT JAMES KELLETI, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN TICKT-PUNCHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 79,232, dated J une 23, 1868.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ROBERT JAMES KEL- LETT, of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ticket Punches for Railroad-Cars, Steamboats, and other Purposes; and I do hereby declare the following description and accompanying drawings aresufiicient to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which it most nearly appertains to make and use my invention or im provements without further invention or experiment.

Letters Patent wereV granted to me for an improvement in ticket-punches on the 28th of May, 1867, No. 65,090, which improvement consisted in applying a lock box or case to they jaw of a ticket-punch, to receive and hold the portions punched out of the ticket until such time as the accounting-clerk should remove them to settle with the conductor.

Since I invented the improvement in the aforesaid patent, I have learned that on streetrailroads it is desirable to punch out a much larger piece than has been heretofore practiced-a piece large enough for a coupon-or to cut off a coupon and punch a hole in it at the saine time, so that the several roads which receive each others coupons in payment of fares, the coupons of each road having a particular color different from the others, the coupons of the several roads, after being removed from'the box on the punch, can be readily separated by the diii'erent colors, strung on wires, and counted for exchange and settlement between the several roads whose coupons have been collected by the conductors. Hence the object of my present improvement is to punch out or cut on a piece of the ticket or coupon large enough to be conveniently handled and counted, and to punch a hole in it at the same time, so that it can be readily strung on a wire for exchanging and settlement between the several roads that run in connection with one another.

The nature of my invention and improvements in ticket-punches consists in combining with a ticket punch having a punching 'or shearing apparatus to remove a coupon or portion of the ticket, and provided with a box or receptacle arranged to receive or hold the coupons cut olf until they are delivered to the accounting-clerk for settlement, and in combining with the above improvements a small auxiliary punch, which, at the same operation which removes a portion of the ticket, punches a small hole in the portion so removed, to allow of its being strung on a wire, for convenience in counting and future reference.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is an elevation of a ticketpunch with my improvements and the box B in section. Fig. 2 is the jaw of the punch and top of the box. Fig. 3 is a section of the box on the line z z, Fig. l.

Inthese drawings, A A' are the handles, and

D D' the jaws, of a pair of nippers provided with my improvements.

C is a knife or punch, as illustrated in my former patent, fastened to the jaw D, and

`working down into a slot, d, in the jaw D', to

punch or shear off a coupon or the end of a ticket when it is placed in the jaws. The jaw-s D and D' are perforated opposite the knife or punch C, and a punch, E, is fastened in the jaw D, so as to pass down through the coupon, the same time the knife cuts it off, into the hole H in the jaw D', thus punching the coupon at the same time that it is cut off. x Around the jaw D', I arrange the box or receptacle B, as shown in the drawings, to receive and hold the coupons cut'oif and punched until they are removed by the accountingclerk, who unlocks the cover E' and empties out the coupons, then closes and locks the door, and returns the punch to the conductor, the door or cover E' being provided with a lock, F, as shown in the drawing, the key to which is kept by the accounting-clerk, thus preventing the conductor from removing the tickets or coupons, except by fraud or stealth.`

The coupons, as the knife and punch are raised, fall into the box.

There is a score across the inside of the jaw D a little longer than the width of the ticket G, and this score is covered by the top of the box B, so as to leave a convenient space and opening to thrust in the end ofthe ticket carA ry'ing the coupons g g. When the conductor cuts off a coupon and punches it at the same time, as the punch is drawn up the top ofthe box holds the-coupon and draws it off of the punch, and it falls down inside the box.

To limit the opening of the handles, Ifastcn the rod b to the handle A, which rod is provided with a head Working in the hollow huh b, so as to' stop the handles at a proper distance apart; and upon the rod b, I arrange a spiral spring to open the handles and withdraw the knife and punch, which Work down through openingsin the top of the box' when the handles are pressed toward each other.

Having described myimprovements in ticketpunches for railroads, steamboats, 85e., I Will state that, in combination with a ticket-punch provided with a device for removing a coupon or portion of a ticket, and having a box or re- 

